Monthly Archives: October 2016

When comparing Power Wheels to Peg Perego there is more than meets the eye. I don’t think it’s necessarily right to put it in the context of which is better. Both brands have a rich history and both have carved out a name for themselves in the ride-on-toy marketplace. Many of today’s parents, including myself, grew up with these battery powered toys and can recall our favorites. The iconic Power Wheels Barbie Jeep is matched by the ever popular Peg Perego John Deere tractor. Each has their list of ‘must have’ replicas from Harley and Kawasaki motorcycles to Ford Escalades, Jeep Wranglers, John Deere Gators and Polaris Sportsman ATVs. But I bet when you bought the toy, this thought never crossed your mind: How much will a replacement battery cost? Perhaps after having the toy for a few months you pondered if there was another battery that would last longer? Or if they could make the darn things faster? Allow us to compare the Peg Perego and Power Wheels toys from the aspect of the battery.

How do you complete a warranty for a motorcycle battery purchased over the internet? Two humorous thoughts stand out as to why it would be highly inconvenient and next to impossible to ride your motorcycle over and let us look at it. A) Apparently the battery is not working. B) You may not be able to get the 6 days off work, nor have the funds to ride 2200 miles from California to Kentucky. But don’t you worry, we have come up with a series of questions and tests that allow us to evaluate and process your motorcycle battery for warranty despite the distance between us.

This is part three of a three part segment on motorcycle battery testing and warranties. Consider reading segment #1 on the importance of testing as well as the second segment on parallel charging.

Not All Warranties Are Created Equal

Most all motorcycle battery manufacturers do not handle warranty issues directly. They rely on merchants and distributors to fulfill this obligation. Each manufacturer has their own warranty

Warranties can be the bane of consumers and merchants alike, especially motorcycle battery warranties. For the merchant or manufacturer it is a necessary evil that requires time and resources for seemingly no commercial gain—looking only from the vantage point of the warranted transaction. The consumer dreads the idea of having to prove the case, possibly being transferred to multiple people, having to send the item back for inspection and then on top of all that pay for shipping both ways! There are horror stories of companies reneging on their obligation to replace or repair defective merchandise. Or they make the process so cumbersome and time consuming people just give up. But there are also consumers that expect the world to bow at their every demand, have outlandish expectations or are the undisputed battery expert with zero years’ experience. Of course these examples are the extreme and not the rule. So what can merchants and consumers do to meet somewhere in the middle?

When considering

This post on how to parallel charge a dead motorcycle battery is a continuation of our segment on Motorcycle Battery Testing but can be applied to all types of lead acid batteries. It is a temporary yet important aspect to diagnosing a bad battery. It also helps answer the question: Can I test my motorcycle battery with just a charger & voltmeter? The short answer is YES, kind of...

If you have a more permanent parallel setup, such as what is used by boat or RV owners, you should jump over and read our Perfectly Balanced Charging tutorial. You will discover how a simple tweak to your set up could save you untold lost dollars and time.

But back to diagnosing a bad battery... It is absolutely amazing how many consumers and so called professionals misdiagnose a battery as "bad". A large percentage of those so called failures were batteries that were unnaturally discharged and salvageable or were tested by an inexperienced or shady professional.

So What is this Parallel Charge?